Art is Spiritual Food

 

THE GREAT WATERS -  by MARK NEPO

 In the beginning, I thought

 I was going somewhere. I thought we all were. 

But falling in while trying to cross, 

I finally understood, the journey is to follow the river. 

All the rivers, especially the ones no one can see. 

The soul is a fish whose home is in those rivers. 

So I can take you across, if you want.

 But the secret is to go everywhere by going nowhere.

 And I will be here when you fall in. 

Which is not a failure but an awakening.

I am not a homebody. I am a roamer, a dreamer, and as I learned recently an escape artist.  By having to sleep in my own bed for more nights in a row than I ever imagined, it really magnified the areas that needed attention in my life.  Things I would let slide by taking a trip some where and forget about those things and return home and repeat. I am still working on wounds that one never really heals from, and with help I am learning to make peace with them. Every week I feel more content and at ease in my own skin. 

Yesterday, I was listening to a book by Clarissa Pinkola Estes called Warming the Stone Child - Myths and Stories about Abandonment and the Unmothered Child. 

http://www.clarissapinkolaestes.com/bio.htm . 

In it she wrote this one profound thing: 

ART IS SPIRITUAL FOOD

This is so true for me and for many creative people, not just artists but writers, poets, musicians, cooks, photographers,  craftsmen and women etc. I believe that this need to create is integrated into our existence.  That we all have the ability to create something and that it is the act of creating that feeds the soul.  That is why I do what I do, help people tap into the creative self to feed their spirit so they can live life more fully.

This pandemic, this eddy in the river of life, has been good for me in more ways than I ever imagined.  In starting the free or by donation Tangle Tuesday online classes and sharing the class recordings on my YouTube channel, I have been able to reach out to a number of people scattered all over the globe and their participation has enriched my  life.

I plan to continue them as long as possible and am so grateful to the other Zentangle Teachers who have stepped up to guest teach on occasion and to those who have donated.  The Zoom link to the Tangle Tuesday classes are in the workshop/classes tab on this blog.  You don't have to register, just join in before 10 AM on Tuesdays and we'll all be there, waiting for you to learn how to create your unique spiritual food. 

Things are opening up again here slowly and steadily.  Serindipity is happening again for me and river of life is beginning to flow again.

One of those things is an online Zentangle Class that I will be teaching through the Naramata Centre on Saturday, July 24th from 10:00 to Noon.  Details can be seen on the workshop tab of this blog, and I will let you know when the registration begins for this offering. 

We could all go back to things as they were. Maybe like me, this pause has made you think twice before you dip your paddle in the same current of your river life.  Perhaps you will be floated to a new stream? A deeper one with new experiences that you never imagined possible. This I wish for you my friends. 

 

Having Fun with Ideas Ever wonder where I get my ideas for classes and how they transform?   Well, the next Make a Splash Zentangle Class is coming up this Saturday, November 10th at 10 AM Pacific and I have been working hard on the format as I want to include new techniques that are different from my previous lessons.   So this is how this one came about. Many months ago, my friend Nancy Domnauer and I got our heads together and presented a joint Zentangle Workshop online.  I wanted to offer something different and had been noodling around ideas of tangling with paint splatters for some time. So that was the moment and it was lot's of fun to do and teach.   My first ideas were pretty simple....keeping with in a flower form.  Then adding a bit more shading and details.... Then inviting the abstract and fooling around with resists.... For this upcoming class, of course I wanted to kick it up a notch and came up with a design that remined me of standing stones.... Then I expanded on that idea.... Then in my TangleTuesday Free online class someone said that the above image reminded them of birch trees and I married it with some new watercolour techniques I learned this summer and....TADA!!!!  We now have Make A Splash Treez!  So that's where I am at so far and you never know what I might discover between now and Saturday. I want to share all these discoveries with you in class and I am excited to see where it takes you!  Some people have asked me if this technique is messy?  Well a bit yes, but most fun does involve some mess, right?  I would call it a controlled mess and I give you pointers on how to prevent mishaps from occuring so hopefully that will give you some confidence to try it.   You don't have to have any painting experience to do this and it can be done with any water medium, from watercolour to acrylics to inktense... all are invited to the party!  Want to give it a go?  There are still spots left for Saturday and here is the link to tickets:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/125675132705 Any questions, or would like to sign up another way. Please let me know. Keep well my friends.

Travel Along with Me.....

 

Want to Get Away?

It seems a very long time since I have travelled overnight some where.  I have a longing for travel. Not the cautious Covid concerned travel, but the foot loose and fancy free travel. Maybe you do to?  So that led me to designing a series of online classes where we can all travel together safely with our pens and pencils.  

The first one has a cute camping theme and starts this month on Saturday September 19th from 10 AM to 11:30 AM pacific online through Zoom.  The cost is $30 Canadian (or about $23 USD) per person and I will send you the short supply list once you sign up. You don't have to have any art experience to do this, as I will show you how in a step by easy step method.  

Want to hop on board for a new destination? Then please click on this link to sign up and pay online.  

Tickets


We'll see you on the road!

Keep healthy,

Loretta West

Tangle Tuesday June 2 2020 The Pause

You Are Welcome as the Flowers in May!

May is here, Hooray!  We may be still practicing covid protocols, but it's great to get outdoors and experience the unfolding of spring!   Online classes have kept me on the hop and I awoke this morning early with my mind zinging on new ideas, so stay tuned for new things happening over the summer.  I have hopes that I will be able to revive in person classes this fall or winter.  Excited to see that things are opening up slowly around me, like our nearby lake day use area. The water's still too cold for me, but I do have a wetsuit! Not sure how desperate I am for a swim though. Tangle Together was a great hit generating about $1000 USD  to be split between Morgan Hill, CA and our lovely little Lumby food banks. Many thanks to all who came and contributed. And a special Thank you to my friend and teaching partner, Nancy Domnauer of https://www.linedotcalm.com/ for all her hard work that made it happen. You will want to check out her terrific line up of online Zoomtangle classes too!  The part I taught, Make a Splash will be offered again as either an online zoomtangle class or as a video, depending on my technical recording skills.  I was delighted to offer a free Tangle Tuesday class to lots of  people on the planet over the past 7 weeks.  Alas, I did the last one this week.  But all is not lost for I recorded some of them and put them on YouTube so if you click on the link below, you can view them there and tangle along.  I hope to be adding a few more videos over time as well.  You may want to subscribe so you don't miss a thing! Loretta West, Colour Garden Studio YouTube Channel   Some have asked that I teach my TangleTown at Home class on a weekday, so I have scheduled next class for Monday May 25th at 9 am Pacific time.  We'll start early so you and I have the rest of the day to get outside and enjoy the spring. The price is in Canadian dollars so about $25 USD as a benchmark.  Once you've bought your ticket through eventbrite, I will send you the short supply list.  Nothing fancy required.  So click on this link and we'll see you soon on Zoom! Eventbrite Ticket to TangleTown at Home NOTE: you can also suscribe to my Eventbrite page so you are notified as soon as I publish an event! Keep tangling and stay well, Loretta

On the Air

Just over a year ago, I learned to teach live online classes with my friend and wonderful Zentangle Teacher, Nancy Donmauer (linedotcalm.com). Little did I know that a year later this skill would be in such high demand!  Since mid March my husband and I (who are in THAT age group) have pretty much isolated ourselves, keeping away from other people with occasional forays to walk and visit the odd store for necessities.  What I am finding now is that I am getting used to this new way of being in the world (Zoom Happy Hours have really helped)  I kind of cringe when I think about having to get dressed properly to go to town for an appointment or teach an actual live class.  When I can't just walk down to my studio and pop on my headphones and mic and start to teach.  Presto!  Then leave my mess behind.

I think after this pandemic is over and it's safe to come out, I will be offering live classes again along with a mix of online classes, but who knows what it will all look like then?  Seems the key word for this experience for me is FLEXIBILITY. 

I invite you to click on the classes and workshops http://colourgardentangles.blogspot.com/p/classes-and-workshops.htmltab to see what's coming up online, like the FREE and FUN TUESDAY TANGLE CLASSES, or the TANGLE TOGETHER WORKSHOP to benefit FOOD BANKS, or the TANGLE TOWN AT HOME CLASS.  I will be adding more online classes as we progress through this pandemic thing, so check back and stay tuned!

I wish you and yours much good health,

Loretta

Resolution or Revolution?

Welcoming in the New Year

I have been in recovery mode this past few weeks and I can tell you that I do not like to have to sit still for very long. When I was a kid in school, I spent hours looking out the window praying for recess!  I love to be working in my studio, but I also love to be outdoors. So this forced break has been a real mental health challenge, but it has brought me to look at my inner self in a deeper way which is not all bad. I have done a lot of SoulCollage work which keeps me a little bit sane. For a while there I had limited use of my shoulder and hand and no lifting, and that, I am happy to say,  got me out of shovel duty at just the right time!  

So I am a bit late in getting the word out about the classes in Lumby, but it couldn't be helped.  After giving it much thought, I have decided to forgo teaching this month as my old body needs more time to heal so I can come back with renewed strength and more ideas for you.

As to SoulCollage, I am waiting to hear back from the RDNO about a grant application which would pay for room rental at the rec centre.  Those wheels move slowly, so hang tight. 

However, I am leaving you with a fun little exercise for the New Year for you to try.  Many people make New Year's resolutions and I can honestly say that I have never kept a one for very long.  So how about something a bit different? What would be one word that would be a help to you in the coming year?  Not sure what it is? Try listening to the meditation link below and see what word pops into your head. Don't over think it.  What ever pops in first is the right word for you!  My word for 2020 is FLOW and I am certainly following the flow of my body and it's recovery right now. No rushing it says, nourishment it needs as it has been through a lot lately.

Here is a link to this lovely meditation on your word for 2020 from Jeanine Sande  Guided Word Meditation

I invite you to then take some time just for yourself to write the word on nice paper and tangle around it.  Or if you want you can collage around it or find photos that speak to that word. You can do free form like I did in the depicted examples or try this cool video by The Tangled Yogi, Romi Marks in which she carefully instructs  you on how to create a beautiful tangled frame around your word.  Tangled Yogi Video

If you do this exercise, please take a photo and send it to me at lorettawest18@gmail.com or text to 250 938 4308.  I'd love to see them and it would lift my cabin fever spirit too!

Hope to see you soon. Until then, take good care.

Warm regards,

Loretta